Eashoa: The Innocent
by Narnia Miss
Summary: Book5
1. So Sudden

When Jakin entered the hole, he saw only darkness for a moment

When Jakin entered the hole, he saw only darkness for a moment. Then, as he emerged from the hole, he suddenly realized he was flying in the sky. Not in space, but in the sky. Then he also realized that he was no longer in an F-5 Comet, but in a somewhat flimsy looking yellow plane. He had on his head a leather cap, with a black scarf tied around his neck. Huge goggles were over his eyes, and the suddenness of having them on made him immediately try and take them off. He was wearing leather gloves, and his hands were clutching some sort of controls, but the plane was weaving back and forth now. He saw small buildings getting steadily closer and closer, and the green grass below was coming up to meet him. Thankfully, he was right above an open field when he landed, and though it was an extremely bumpy landing, it was a safe one.

Marion radioed back to the station room, telling them that she was going in after Jakin. They told her not to, but she was not about to leave Jakin in there. She flew in, slowly and carefully.

Jakin clumsily climbed out of the plane, taking his hat and goggles off. He surveyed the landscape, finding himself fairly close to a small farmhouse. Not far away was what looked to be a city, and Jakin started making his way towards it.

When Marion came out of the black hole, she too saw that she was flying some sort of plane. She was wearing much the same thing as Jakin was, except she was wearing a light blue cotton dress, and high heels. She did not know it, but she landed in a field not far from the field where Jakin landed. After she climbed out, she looked down at her clothes. Blue dress, white bead necklace, a deeper blue cloche hat with a white feather in it, and white high heels. She looked around, wondering where she was. Then, she saw that she was close to a very large city, and decided to go to it.

Jakin finally reached the city, and as he walked in it, he saw some young boys playing on a sidewalk. Each wore a cloth hat, with brown knickers and suspenders. They were playing marbles, but when they saw him, they stopped playing, and one of them called out, "Fancy clothes you got, mister. You one of them pilots?" Before Jakin could answer, another boy retorted, "He ain't a pilot. I saw him land his plane, and he near crashed it."

"I'm afraid that's true. I've never really flown one of those planes before." He answered. Another boy piped up, "Where you from? You don't talk like we do."

"Back east a bit, I believe. I'm new here."

"I can see that." The speaker was a man who had come up behind Jakin.

"Scram." He said to the boys, and instantly they did. Jakin looked at the man. He wore a pinstripe gray suit, with a brown fedora perched precariously at the top of his head. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Jakin up and down. "All newcomers gotta go through the boss. Come with me." Jakin didn't want to go anywhere with this man, but he bit back his protest as a gun suddenly appeared in the man's left arm.

He cradled it, casually pointing it straight at Jakin as if it were an everyday sort of action. He motioned for Jakin to start walking, and fell in behind him. As they made their way across town, Jakin took in everything. The city was dirty, with newspapers littered all over the place, and it seemed as if there were very few people there. At last, the man told Jakin to stop when they reached a large building. The man grabbed Jakin's arm, and pushed him through the opening, though Jakin wasn't sure why. He was further pushed into a large room, where a broad shouldered man sat behind an enormous desk. He had dark curly hair, and smoke lazily drifted upwards as he smoked a fat cigar. Two muscular med stood behind him, as if at attention. Both of them also cradled long guns, ready to fight. Jakin stopped before the man, waiting. The man slowly set down his cigar, then spoke to the man behind Jakin. "What's he want?"

"He's a newcomer. Thought you might like to see him before letting him traipse around town. He could be a spy, you know."

"Yeah yeah, I know. But so far, you've brought me about fifty people you say are spies. So we kill e'm, and then we find out they aren't spies. So you know, I want youse to get real proof of them being spies before you bring e'm to me, okay?" The man behind him nodded an affirmative, and then the man behind the desk looked at Jakin.

"I'm Mack. _The_ Mack. Let's just say I basically own this town. You give me trouble, and you get a slug in the back. Got it?" Jakin gave a slow nod. He didn't want any trouble with "Mack" if he could help it. When he nodded, Mack dismissed them with his hand. The man behind him jabbed him with the gun, and the two walked out of the room. Once they were outside, the man finally pointed the end of the gun at the ground. His eyes weren't as hard as they had been earlier as he said, "Just don't give us no trouble. You innocent and you don't wanna mess with us, that's fine with me." At that, he turned on his heel, and walked away. Jakin gave a sigh of relief. He had no idea what time he was in, and it almost scared him. He'd give anything to have The Book right now, and he wondered why he had been pulled into this time so suddenly. He wondered where Marion was, too.


	2. Believers

Marion had just reached the other side of the town, when she heard several gunshots

Marion had just reached the other side of the town, when she heard several gunshots. They sounded far away, but she still didn't welcome the sound. She wasn't sure if they would welcome _her._ Still, she continued on into the town, only stopping when a Model T. Ford honked at her, and crossed her path. She then continued on, looking all over for Jakin to no avail. She crossed another street, passing some men that were talking in low tones, when another car raced by. One man hung outside the window, and he had a gun pointed past Marion, at one of the men. The man scattered, but it was too late. _Tat-tat-tat-tat!_ The bullets came faster than Marion had ever seen, and she fell to the ground, and pulled her arms over her head. She could see through a crack in her arm as the men on the sidewalk fell, one by one. They were poorly dressed, with threadbare suits, and with faces that had not been shaved in days. One of the men was spattered with bullets, and fell near Marion. His emotionless eyes looked at Marion, and she quickly looked away. Finally, when all the men were down, the car squealed away, and there was silence. After a few seconds, Marion finally stood up, scanning the street. No cars. She cautiously walked over to the fallen men, hoping that at least one of them was still alive. Three out of the four men were dead, but the fourth man looked up at Marion pleadingly. "Please…get out of sight. If you need somewhere safe to stay, go to Tony's Café. He'll help you…" And with that, he fell back and died. Marion backed away from him, grief filling her. What kind of time and place was this that anyone could go down the street, and murder anyone? She needed to find Jakin, now.

Jakin was already in Tony's Café, coincidentally. He had been walking down a sidewalk, and had smelled something that made his stomach give a loud growl. He followed his nose, going into a small, but clean café. Red and white checkered tablecloths covered small tables, with one lone candle flickering on each table. A man was sweeping the floors inside, but he looked up when Jakin came in. He was young, maybe about twenty years old. Dark curly hair, with large expressive eyebrows, and his white teeth flashed against bronze skin. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, I am actually looking for my sister. Red hair like mine, except it is curly. Green eyes."

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen her. I haven't seen anyone with red hair for a while. You're new here?"

"Yeah, and let me say I didn't get a very good welcome."

"Ha, I bet you didn't. Sorry if Mack roughed you up a bit there, but he does that to almost everyone. At least he didn't hurt you none."

"I hate to say it, but I'm starving. Is there any way I can work for some food?"

"Hmm. How about you work for some food, and a change of clothes?"

"Why, what's wrong with these?"

"Well, nothing, really. But you just won't fit in this town with those kind of clothes. I have an extra pair of clothes that should fit you. Go ahead and take a seat, I'll bring you out the best spaghetti you'll ever have."

Jakin thanked him, and took a seat at one of the tables and thought, _I don't even know what spaghetti is._ He had only waited a few moments, when Tony came back out, with a plate filled with noodles and sauce. Two large pieces of Garlic bread lay on either side of the plate, and though Jakin had never had this kind of food before, he knew it was going to be delicious. He thankfully accepted the plate, and dug in, immediately thinking that spaghetti had to be his favorite food now. Tony sat down beside him, grinning when he saw how hungry Jakin was. He rolled up his sleeves, and looked out the window. "Say, that wouldn't be your sister, would it?" Just as he said that, Marion entered the café. When she saw Jakin, her face lit up, and the two rushed to greet each other. She saw his food and said teasingly, "Eating while I'm out looking for you, hmm?" Jakin laughed, and motioned for her to sit down. Tony introduced himself to her, then went in the kitchen to get another heaping full of spaghetti for Marion. When at last the three were sitting down and eating together, it had grown dark outside, and Marion told them what had happened to her. Tony shook his head slowly, grief filling his eyes. "I knew all four of them. They belonged to-" Here he stopped, and looked at the twins. It seemed he was weighing if he should tell them something or not, but after a few seconds, he decided to trust them. "They belonged to a group of mine. Mack calls us the Innocents, but really we're just Believers in Jesus. Some of us try and stay out of trouble, some of us are trying to stop all the gangsters, and some of us are even rebelling, of some sort." Marion looked at him then asked, "What about you?"

"A little of all, actually. I want to stay out of trouble, I want to stop the crime, but I also don't want to be pushed around by all the gangsters. The reason Mack calls us the Innocents is because we basically promise we're not going to interfere, or mess with him. He'll usually leave us alone if we stay out of sight, but that's a hard thing to do nowadays. I see one of his men messing with a lady, and you know, I wanna step in and help her. But that's not what an "Innocent" is supposed to do. Know what I mean?" Jakin and Marion looked at each other, and nodded. Jakin had told her about reading the Bible, and Jesus. "We're Believers too, Tony. How can we help you?"

"I'm glad to hear it. Believers are getting more and scarcer. You guys want to come to a meeting tonight with the other Believers? I'll need to talk to them about the men who were shot down today."

"We'd love to. I just wish we could stop Mack, Tony. What he's doing isn't right." Said Marion.

Tony sighed. He knew, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.


	3. No More Warnings

Tony motioned for them to keep quiet, while he went ahead to see if the street was clear

Tony motioned for them to keep quiet, while he went ahead to see if the street was clear. After a few moments, he came back, and waved for them to run across the street. Marion went first, taking a quick look both ways, and then dashing across the street. Jakin followed suit, and was soon across the street following Tony also. Finally, they reached a small building on the outskirts of town. On the side of the building was a cellar and Tony slowly and quietly bent down, and opened it up. Soft lamplight spilled out into the night as the three carefully climbed down into the cellar, shutting the door behind them. Stepping down on the cold dirt floor, they then ducked as the ceiling came low. They followed Tony in a sort of passageway, and then made a sharp turn to the left to find themselves in a small room. A small crowd of fifteen people sat quietly on some benches, with a few people looking suspiciously at Jakin and Marion. Tony quickly reassured them that the two were not traitors or spies, and then some people smilingly made room for them on the bench. Jakin looked to the front to see a tall broad shouldered man with a big Bible in his hands. He welcomed the newcomers, then opened the Bible, and began reading. Marion had never heard anything out of the Bible before, and frankly, it stunned and amazed her. She heard John 3:16 and tears rose in her eyes. She leaned to Jakin and whispered, "If only we had this in our time. It would do wonders with some of the people."

"I know, I thought the same thing. It is a shame that we will never live to see it." They then sat quietly, soaking in all the words that the preacher (for that was what he was) spoke. Soon they all stood up to sing songs, and right away Jakin and Marion found that the songs were sung in Italian. It sounded like this:

Oh Dio, Sei il Mio Sign Oh Dio, Sei il Mio Signor

"In fede bramo di Te.  
L'anima mia ha sete di Te,  
il mio corpo è in cerca di Te.  
In terra arida e secca  
dove acqua non c'è,  
Ti ho scorto nel santuario,  
e ho visto la Tua Potenza e Gloria:  
perché il Tuo Amor è più che la vita,  
perché il Tuo Amor è più che la vita.

Le labbra mie loderanno Te,  
gloria Ti renderò  
per quanto io vivrò

Nel Nome Tuo innalzo le mani!  
Nel Nome Tuo innalzo le mani!"  
Nel Nome Tuo innalzo le mani!

Oh Dio, sei il mio Signor.

But Tony quickly translated for them:

"O God, you are my God,  
Earnestly I seek you;  
My soul thirsts for you,  
My body longs for you.  
In a dry and weary land  
where there is no water.  
I have seen you in the sanctuary.  
And beheld your power and your glory.  
Because your love is better than life,  
Because your love is better than life,

My lips will glorify you.  
I will praise you as long as I live,  
And in your name I lift up my hands.  
And in your name I lift up my hands.  
And in your name I lift up my hands.  
O God, you are my God."

Both Marion and Jakin had tears running down their face as they struggled to sing with the others. You must understand that they had never heard people praising Eashoa with music. It hadn't been thought of. They didn't want the worship to end, but it eventually did. Anyone who had any doubt that Jakin and Marion were spies was soon gone; because one could only look at their tear struck faces to see that. When the service was over, they mingled for a few moments, meeting the other Believers, while Tony told some of the leaders what had happened to the men who were shot. They discussed the funerals, and what to do with the gangsters. It was an awful thing, and now everyone really wanted to stop the crime and gangs. Someone told Marion and Jakin that what "Innocents" really meant was that they were supposed to stay out of _everything,_ and they would live. But the men who had been shot down were Innocents, and they hadn't been doing anything against the "rules." But _they_ had been shot down, and it didn't make any sense.

Quietly and somberly, the three made their way back to the café. Tony had offered them some cots in the back room, and they had willingly accepted. Tony unlocked the back door, and flicked the light on. Marion gasped, and Jakin nearly did too. Two men stood in the kitchen, guns aimed at them. One of the men was the man who had taken Jakin to Mack earlier, and Jakin saw recognition flicker in the man's eyes. But then, their attention turned to Tony. "We got a message for you, Tony. This is your first time turning down workin' for us. We won't let you refuse again, so think it over for a little more time. You try and run…and youse gonna be dead." Then, he turned to Marion, eyes cold.

"Who are you?"

"Marion Bronson. Jakin's my brother."

"I can see that…youse got the same hair. Just as I said to your brother, watch yourself. We don't like to mess up a good lookin'n dame."

And with that, they left. Marion and Jakin slowly turned to Tony, hoping for an explanation. "What's going on?" Tony sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "Two weeks ago, they came by, asking me to join their gang. I flat out said no, and they both jumped me. They said they would give me some more time to think it over. This is their second warning, and I won't get another after this. I can't join, but if I don't, they'll kill me."


	4. The Coffin

Marion knew what Tony was saying was true, but she could hardly believe it

Marion knew what Tony was saying was true, but she could hardly believe it. They would kill Tony if they didn't do something, but she didn't know what. Just then, someone pounded on the door. It startled them, but Tony quickly recovered, and quietly went to the door. An older woman stood there, fear reining in her eyes.

"It's Rosa. She's gone! I can't find her anywhere, and she's been gone for two days now. I didn't want to say anything before then, but now I'm worried." Tony quickly hugged the shivering woman, then let go, and grabbed his coat and hat. "I'll help you look for her. Have you told anyone else?"

"Yes, I've told most of the Believers already. They're going to help look, too." Tony nodded, and started to go out of the door with the woman. Jakin and Marion quickly followed them.

They searched everywhere, but couldn't find the young woman. Once Jakin and Marion had been confronted by some of Mack's men.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We're looking for someone who's lost. Have you seen Rosa Hutchinson anywhere?"

"Wouldn't say if I had. Get out of here." But before Jakin and Marion had turned away, the man had grabbed Marion's shoulder, and swung her around. He squinted in the darkness at her, and then dragged her over to where a streetlamp was. He pushed her under the yellow light, and looked her up and down, then whistled. Marion heard faintly the man say, "She's a dame. Boss'll want this one. Misura piacevole nella Bara!"

He then let go of her, and Marion stumbled over to Jakin, who took her hand. The two quickly walked away, to find Tony. Once they found him, Jakin worriedly asked Tony, What did he mean?" He told Tony what the man had said in Italian, but when he had done so, he saw Tony's face grow cold.

"What is it?"

"I…I had thought it was just a rumor. I never even imagined it would be true." He paced back and forth in the street until Jakin was ready to shake him with impatience. "But _what_ did he say?"

"He…he said, "She'll fit nice in a coffin."

When Jakin heard this, he thought immediately that the man was talking about killing Marion.

"They can't just kill her! She didn't do anything wro-"

"No, Jakin. That's not what he meant. You see, for years now there has been a rumor that a certain gangster or gang has been kidnapping young women, and shipping them over the sea to people who will buy them for slaves. Hearing that the man said that…it must be true. I can only imagine where Rosa Hutchinson is now."

"But what did he mean about the coffin." It was Marion who spoke now, and she was worried.

"The men sedate the women with pills or needles, and put them in a coffin just the size of the girl. When the girls wake, they sometimes grow panicky, and start scratching at the coffin, trying to get out. I've heard many stories, but never thought it would be true. We've got to get you safely back inside the café, Marion. Come on." The three made their way back to the café, almost running. Jakin felt almost sick, thinking that within a moment his sister could be kidnapped, killed, or injured. It worried and frightened him, and he was extra protective as they slept that night. He gave her the cot, while he lay on the floor right next to her, with an extra gun Tony had given him cradled on his chest. Tony sat at one of the tables, vowing that he would not fall asleep all night; for fear that Mack's men would barge in, and take Marion. He too held a gun, a "Tommy gun" as it was called. He hoped that he would not have to use it.

Marion slept fitfully all night. Finally giving up on sleep, she spent the rest of the night praying for guidance, and reassurance.

Though his heart was in the right place, Tony did end up falling asleep. His hand was rested on his gun, and his head lay on the table. If he had of looked up right at that moment, he would have seen two faces peering into the café, both holding Tommy guns. Both Tony was fast asleep, so he didn't see, or hear anything. The door was locked, but a key from one of the men quickly opened the door. Just let me say that gangsters have friends in all different places. They quietly came inside, one man going towards Tony, the other man making his way in the back. Marion was still awake when the man came in the room, but she kept her eyes closed to a slit, and saw him stooping down to Jakin. She wasn't about to pretend to be sleeping while her brother was killed, so in one swift move, she had landed a well aimed kick at the stooping figure, and the man fell backwards, his gun clattering. Jakin was up in a moment, tackling the man. The two wrestled on the ground, while Marion searched for one of the guns. There it was. She grabbed it, and aimed it at the man, but it was too dark, and they were moving too fast for her to be able to shoot. Then, she heard a clear, lone gunshot, and it came from the front of the café. Then, she saw a dark figure in the door way, pointing a gun at her. "Drop it."

"I don't think so."

"Do it or you die."

"You can't kill me, you need me."

"Drop it, or I shoot your leg out."

Marion had heard enough. She quickly aimed at the man, and shot him.


	5. Help!

The man fell backwards, yelling

The man fell backwards, yelling. Marin had shot him in the shoulder, just nipping him. But when she jumped over him to go out of the room, he caught her by her left heel, tripping her. The gun went flying as she fell to the floor, and she barely had any time to think as the man grabbed the gun, and aimed it at her. He unsteadily stood to his feet, gun wavering. Marion started to get up, but lay back down when the man snarled, "Don't move. You do, and I won't hesitate to shoot you this time."

Marion did as he said. She knew he was serious this time. She looked over at Jakin, who was also lying on the ground, quite still. The man who had been wrestling with him had a gun pointed at him also, and in the dim light, Marion could see an ugly bruise forming on her brother's face. The man had some casualties of his own; his eye was swollen shut, and blood poured from his nose. All was quiet for a moment, and then Marion heard a loud shout from in front of the café. It was Tony. After the shout, she heard some muffling feet, then one lone gunshot. Marion feared the worst, and as she looked up at the man who had his gun trained on her, she saw his smile, and her fears were answered. The two then hauled Jakin and Marion up, and pushed them out of the room. Marion wanted to close her eyes when they entered the front of the room, but she willed her eyes to remain open as she searched frantically for Tony. There he was, lying motionless on the ground. A small gaping hole could be seen on the side of his stomach, blood seeping out onto the floor. Marion turned away, eyes tearing up. It was all so cold, so heartless. She had stopped on seeing Tony, and the man behind her grabbed her arm, and forced her forward. She heard two men behind them saying, "We can't risk the chance some rebels will jump on us when they see we have the girl. We'll just have to get her in the coffin now."

Jakin looked over at his sister on hearing this, and his eyes grew dark with anger. He was not going to let those men put his sister in a coffin without a fight on their hands! When the men swung Marion around to where a coffin lay on the ground, Jakin threw himself into action. The unsuspecting man with the gun behind him was knocked in the face with Jakin's elbow, and thrown to the ground. His gun fell to the ground, and was quickly snatched up by Jakin, who shot the man in the leg, then turned to the other men with Marion. The men dragging Marion threw her towards the coffin, and turned towards Jakin. "You don't put that gun down, and you'll be plugged with hundreds of bullets before you reach the ground, kid."

"All the same, I'll still kill at least one of you, and that gives my sister a chance of escape."

"You stupid or something? Put it down, or you're gonna get killed!"

The man who had been shot in the leg got up the strength to stand to his feet silently, and knock Jakin to the ground. Jakin fell, and the men were on him in a minute. Within two minutes, he was bound and gagged. Marion was once again dragged to the coffin, kicking and yelling. Several of the men were punched in the face several times, but it didn't stop them as they pushed her into the coffin. Once she finally lay inside, one man tied her wrists, while another tied her feet together. At last when she laid wiggling and squirming, one man tied a gag around her mouth. Jakin could only watch from the floor, straining through his gag, trying to yell. The man that had been shot in the shoulder by Marion gleefully waved goodbye to her with a sneer as he closed the coffin lid, and the two began locking the clasps on either side. They only left one clasp undone, so that there was room for air to get in so that she could breathe. Then, without a backwards glance at Jakin and the still body of Tony, then lifted up the coffin, and walked outside. Jakin saw through the clear window them roughly set the coffin in a horse-drawn wagon outside. It looked just like some people taking a body to be buried.

Marion's head bashed against the bottom of the coffin when the men set her down in the carriage, and she gritted her teeth. _No doubt they did that on purpose._ Then, the carriage started, she was off. She doubted there was any chance of the carriage being stopped; because the gangsters had friends everywhere, and had probably planned everything well out. _Eashoa, I'm so scared…._

Jakin lay there, silent. He couldn't believe this was happening. What now? Weren't he and Marion here to help? He was startled when he heard moaning. _Moaning? It's just me in here…_ Jakin slowly turned his eyes over to where Tony lay. He was moving.


	6. What Now?

Marion forced herself to breath more slowly, willing herself to calm down

Marion forced herself to breath more slowly, willing herself to calm down. She was scared, and worried about Jakin, hoping he was all right. These men could be taking her anywhere…

Jakin tried to roll his way over to Tony, but it was slow going. Finally, he reached the now still man, and tried to call out to him through his gag. "Mmmf!" It didn't get any reaction, and Tony still lay unmoving.

Marion woke suddenly when she felt the wagon stop moving. _What now?_ She thought to herself, as she heard someone's shoes crunching on the road, getting closer, and closer to her. Finally, the person stopped, and Marion squinted and cowered down as the coffin lid was flipped open, and a man peered down at her. Marion assumed he was a farmer, as he wore overalls, and a wide-brimmed hat. He stood over her for a moment, looking her over, before shutting the lid again. Marion felt desperate. Kicking the coffin with her tied feet, she screamed through her gag, making a teeming noise through the air. After five minutes of this, she lay back down, limp. Then, the wagon started moving again, and Marion shut her eyes.

Jakin shoved Tony with his feet, praying that the man would waken. It was a wonder he was still breathing, as blood was everywhere, and his face was pale. _If only I could get untied! I need to stop his bleeding._ He kicked Tony a few more times, then lay back down, breathing heavily. He looked around the room, searching for anything sharp. Nothing. _Well, maybe I could roll over to the door, roll outside, and wait for someone to see me. Right._ It was all he could think of, so he rolled onto his shoulder, and continued on to the door. But he didn't get very far, when he heard the door open, and he desperately swung around to face the door. It was the pastor! The man let out a startled yelp, his eyes wide, then, he ran to Jakin, shoving his hands down in his pockets, searching frantically for his pocketknife. Finally, his hand grabbed it, and soon he had untied Jakin, and helped him to his feet. Jakin had told him all that had happened while being untied, and then the two raced to Tony. Jakin tore part of his shirt off, and pressed it against Tony's gunshot wound, as Pastor O'Brian raced for a wet cloth. Tony's face was covered in sweat, and he was still pale. Both Jakin and the pastor feared they were too late, but they tried to stop his blood flow as best as they could, before racing to find a doctor. Jakin stayed with Tony, wondering if the man was going to live. Jakin's hands started to shake, and tears came to his eyes as he thought of his sister, and all that had happened. His shoulders shook as a sob caught in his throat, and he pleaded with Eashoa to let Tony live.

It was pitch dark in the coffin, so Marion could not tell whether it was day, or night. She had been able to fall asleep for a while, but she could not tell if she had been asleep for only a few moments, or for hours. Then, she heard people talking nearby the wagon as it moved, then she heard a strange sort of whistling noise. It was loud, and it pierced the air. It was in fact a ferry whistle, but Marion had never heard the like, and she didn't even know what a ferry was. They had reached a dock, and one of the men climbed out of the wagon to talk to a deckhand about their cargo. Marion could barely hear them talking, but what she did hear sounded something like this:

"Just going to Narrow haven, that isn't too far."

"We don't take passengers that far down, sir. The end of the line is in Chicago; from there you'll have to take another ferry if you want to go to Narrow haven."

The men seemed to move away, because Marion couldn't make out any more for a few moments. She recognized the man's voice; it belonged to the man who had aimed his gun at her. He had a sort of cold, gravelly voice, and it sent chills down Marion's back whenever she heard him talk. Then, she heard him call to the other man in the wagon, "Pull ahead!" And she felt the wagon move ahead. The wheels rolled onto what sounded and felt like a wooden plank, and she heard several men yelling from all sides of her saying things like, "To the left!"

"No, go over a bit—we don't want you to fall over the side, now do we?" And then, all was still.

The doctor gently put a damp cloth on Tony's head, and then motioned for Jakin and the pastor to follow him out of the room. The doctor had come quickly enough, and they had been able to get a car around, and carefully get Tony in the back seat, and into one of the beds in the doctor's small house. The town was small enough that there was no hospital, just the back room in the doctor's house. The doctor was a small, thin graying man, but there was power and gentleness in his hands as he had tended to Tony's wound.

"He'll make it, there's no worry over that. I'm glad I was able to get there as fast as I did. He'll recover, but he'll need a lot of rest. Why don't you two go home, and get some rest. I'll send word to you as soon as he wakes." The pastor and Jakin nodded their relief and assent, and slowly walked out of the door. The pastor sighed, and wrapped his arm around Jakin as they walked down the street. "I'll alert our church and the other Believers, Jakin. We have some outside authorities that we can rely on to start a quiet investigation in this matter, and they will be on the lookout for those men that took your sister. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you, especially you being a visitor to our town. Right now, we just need to trust the Lord that everything will turn out all right."

Tony couldn't sleep all night. He couldn't seem to pray, either. All he could think about was Marion, replaying the scene in his mind from that night, when the men had forced her into the coffin. Her face had been nearly white, and her eyes were wide. He'd never forget how she looked, never. And he had failed to protect her, like he always said he would. His thoughts went from sorrow to anger, and self-pity. Hot tears came to his eyes, and he sat up in the small cot that the pastor had insisted he lay in. He stood up, and paced back and forth, fists clenched. It was his entire fault, and he would most likely never see Marion again because of it.

A day went by before the ferry sailed into Chicago, and Marion had finally fallen asleep when her head banged against the coffin, the wagon going over the gangplank, and onto land. Her head pounded, but she was now awake, and her stomach growled fiercely. Her throat felt extremely dry, and the gag didn't help any. Her mouth and lips hurt and ached, as the gag was stretched tightly around her face. She hoped she would be let out of the coffin soon, because she felt like she couldn't stand this much longer.


End file.
